With both sides fighting for finals hosting rights, the Cowboys put in their best performance of the year to leave the Bulldogs with several headaches.
The Accor Stadium win means the Cowboys will face the winner of the final-round game between Newcastle and Dolphins, in Townsville next weekend.
Canterbury are now locked in to play Manly, and must wait to see if the Sea Eagles beat Cronulla on Sunday to steal hosting rights.
Inconsistent through parts of this season, North Queensland are threatening to find form when it matters most, with six wins from their past seven games.
North Queensland's Heilum Luki broke the line four times and scored a try against the Bulldogs. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)
No side has won the title from outside the top four in the NRL era, but the Cowboys will have the advantage in a hot and humid Townsville to kick off their finals campaign.
"Every year that goes by, someone is closer to doing it," Payten said.
"The competition is pretty open. There are a couple of teams with the advantage in that top four.
"But I think momentum and availability from your players is a huge part of this next little period.
"And we've got the ability, the belief is there. Anything is possible. I'm really excited about what lies ahead for us."
There are bigger issues for the Bulldogs to solve than just hosting rights after their second straight loss on the eve of the finals, in front of 32,437 fans.
Cameron Ciraldo's men desperately missed Matt Burton in attack and at the end of sets, with replacement Drew Hutchison taken off at halftime.
Even still, Burton's absence couldn't overshadow how badly their middle was beaten and the side's defensive concerns.
With one of the smallest packs in the NRL, Canterbury have been able to use their mobility to their advantage for most of this season.
But they have now been rolled by two finals-bound packs in the space of two weeks, conceding more than 30 points in both games.
Valentine Holmes showed off his kicking prowess in the Cowboys' thrashing of Canterbury. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)
After Manly's big men did the job on them last week, the Cowboys repeated the dose again on Saturday night.
They ran almost 700 metres more than the Bulldogs, and limited Canterbury to just two play-the-balls in the attacking 20-metre zone.
"It's well documented we're not as big as other teams," Ciraldo said.
"So if you give bigger teams more possession (early), you will put yourself under pressure.
"We've done a good job of it all year, staying in the fight, going toe-to-toe and getting equal amounts of possession and earning field position through that.
"We haven't done it the last two weeks.
"It's not rocket science. We get that stuff right and we'll give ourselves a chance in the finals."
Canterbury will get Burton (concussion), Josh Addo-Carr (ankle) and Bronson Xerri (suspension) back next week against Manly.
Canterbury's Viliame Kikau was placed on report against the Cowboys. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)
But there could be concerns for powerful second-rower Viliame Kikau, who has a poor judicial record and was placed on report for a late shot on Jake Clifford.
The Bulldogs defence was cut to shreds on their right edge, with Heilum Luki breaking the line four times and scoring once when he ran on to a Tom Dearden ball.
Another Cowboys try before the break was a piece of brilliance, with Dearden and Clifford sending the ball right before Jeremiah Nanai popped up an inside pass for Scott Drinkwater.
And Valentine Holmes offered more magic, when Drinkwater ran it on the last and passed to the centre, who kicked ahead, regathered and scored.
Wingers Murray Taulagi and Kyle Feldt also bagged doubles, each claiming an intercept in the lead up to tries.
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